How to survive the food
madness

Mad cow disease, animals
fed animals, hormones and chemicals: all of this is frustrating for
anyone trying to maintain a Halal and healthy diet for themselves
and their families.

But don't give up! There
are ways to get around the challenges faced in trying to eat right.
Let's safeguard our food chain. Here are some ideas:

Ban Feeding Animals to Animals: Become a part of
a Safe Food Movement

Please
be a part of the movement by signing a petition to force our policy
makers to safeguard human food supply. What is being done right
now is not enough. And consumers need to put pressure on our leaders
to improve the situation. Forward
this petition to as many people as possible, Muslims and non-Muslim
alike.

Go natural or organic

Both
organic and natural
foods ensure that feed given to animals is exclusively vegetarian.
They also ensure that no hormones are used in the animals. Of course,
this means that they cost a little more than most of the meat on
the market. But given the quality of the food, it's worth its price.

Consume other types of meat

Cows
and beef given hormones and meat based proteins to fatten them up
quickly. They are fattened up to have more meat that is sellable.
Consider consuming more lamb and goat meat (mutton).

A
perfect time to try a vegetarian diet

If
the mad cow crisis has you thinking about giving up meat, now's
the perfect time to incorporate more vegetarian foods
into your meals, or to try a vegetarian diet. You'll be amazed at
the variety of delicious foods now available and the multitude of
health benefits.

Go
cold turkey on the beef

If
you want to be really radical, quit eating beef completely. That
means not only avoiding beef you buy at the local Halal grocer,
but also hamburger patties, hot dogs, salami, and bologna, for instance.
Eat chicken and other sources of protein.

Learn more about what is in your food

Reading
ingredient of what you eat is more important today then before.
Allocate some time to this learning process. You may be surprised
with what you learn. For example one chemical L-cysteine which is
used by food industry is derived from human hair.

how
to cook yourself

Nowadays,
you can find recipes that are really easy to prepare on the web
that are Halal and healthy. While cooking your own food versus relying
on prepackaged or processed food items may take a little more time,
it is worth the effort. You'll be in control of what you and your
family consume and you'll be protecting everyone from ingesting
what's Haram (forbidden according to Islamic law) and harmful.

Your Comments

Marie, MIchigan -
wrote on 2/22/2004 11:23:35 PM
Rating: Comment: Great article!
But sadly turkeys and chickens get their beaks cut off with a 1500 degree blade (Without pain killers). As well as a long list of haram things. They are so full of growth hormones that the chickens we see at the store wrapped up are actually chicks around the age of 6 weeks tops.
If you want turkey or chicken find a muslim farmer or a compassionate local farm.

Bob, Montreal -
wrote on 1/7/2004 11:52:07 AM
Rating: Comment: "Go cold turkey on the meat" indeed! Try turkey instead. It's often less aggressively-produced, and more likely to be free-range. It's also lean and healthy. Try halal turkey slices.